Another fresh batch of first issues

ARMSTRONG AND THE VAULT OF SPIRITS by Fred Van Lente, Cafu and Darrick Robertson.  Part of Valiant’s classic duo returns with a special wine tasting, featuring Faith, Punk Mambo, Quantum and Woody and Archer. They crack the vault, only to have to run into one of the last sons of Canaan,w ho blame Armstrong for their ills over the centuries.  It’s a wild team-up with a surprise visit from Ivar the Timewalker. It looks great and I always liked this character as the big oaf he has always been. A cute little one-shot that brings some of Valiant’s most popular heroes together.

ASSASSINISTAS #1 by Tini Howard and Gilbert Hernandez. First off: if you’re going to et Gilbert Hernandez illustrate it, you’ve already won me over! Hat having been said, this is a wildly entertaining tale of a group of lady guns for hire: their past, their present, their families and their lovers. The dialogue is fun and the script is rife with great lines while Hernandez does what he does best: draw quicky characters. This is not a book for everyone, as I know many who don’t care for Hernandez’ art srtyle. Me-I LOVE IT!

30 DAYS OF NIGHT #1 by Steve Niles and Piotr Kowalski. 30 DAYS is a classic tale which was made into several movies. Niles has rebooted the story for a new generation and it’s great! The story holds up really well and Kowlaski’s art is traditional comic style art, not the wonderful abstract work of Ben Templesmith. Will Niles change it up from the original? I’m curious to find out. If you have never read the original, score this! And if you have, score this anyway!

DARKHAWK #51 by Chad Bowers, Chris Sims and Kev Walker. Possibly the last Marvel character we needed to see again. But, lo and behold, here he is. Chris Powell has found a secret amulet that gives him the powers of Darkhawk. Now he’s all grown up and is a cop, but still has his connection to the amulet. It’s 20 pages of…nothing. This was, by far, the weakest of the LEGACY themed one-shots that brought back “classic” characters. Nothing to see here…move along.

DAYS OF HATE #1 by Ales Kot and Danijel Zezelj. When you start a comic with a quote from Steve Bannon, you know it’s going to be off the rails. And it is! Set in the not so distant future, the world is devastated and. While it is not a wasteland, the country is pretty messed up. With political prisoners, undercover operations, bad bikers and all, this book is so intriguing on where it will go over the course of the next year. It’s a wild ride that will keep you guessing page after page. The art is dark and has a noir feel while Kot’s writing is right where it needs to be. Revealing any more could give it all away.

DEJAH THORIS #0 by Amy Chu and Pasquale Qualano. Dynamtie launches this new series with a 16-page story that introduces the Princess of Mars to us. There is an additional 8 pages of sketches, inked art and other extras.  The story is okay, and the art is reminiscent of Terry Dodson. The highlight, besides the 25-cent cover price, is the amazing Jay Anacleto cover, which truly makes this book worth the 25 cents! Also, be on the lookout for the extremely limited Elias Chatzoudis variant!

DOCTOR STRANGE DAMNATION #1 by Nick Spencer, Donny Cates and Rod Reis. Doctor Strange uses his magic to rebuild Las Vegas, but all magic has a price and this time, it means playing Poker with Mephisto for Doc’s soul. Doc cheats and gets caught, causing Mephisto to claim many Marvel heroes as his pawns. This leads to Wong getting involved and putting together a new team made up of Moon Knight, Brother Voodoo, Iron Fist, Blade, Man Thing, Ghost Rider, and Bloodstone. Fun beginning. The art is fine and the story is cool. Donny Cates has been on fire lately and you can feel his influence at parts of the tale.

FAITH’S WINTER WONDERLAND SPECIAL #1 by Marguerite Sauvage and Francis Portella.  Faith ends up in Wonderland and it’s not quite what Lewis Carroll imagined. This is a pretty harmless piece by Sauvage with killer art from Portella. In fact, it’s pretty much an all-ages story, except for a couple of scary monsters, so feel free to read it to the kids.

FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE! TRIO by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson. IDW collects the three issue series in one book. If you never bought these when they came out, it is a beautifully loving tale about the monster from the creature’s perspective. Lavishly illustrated by by the late great Berni Wrightson, Niles’ story is a touching one. Issue #4 is on the way, with bonus material by Kelley Jones. It’s eight bucks, but well worth it!

ICE CREAM MAN #1 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. What has dead people, a killer spider, a werewolf and an ice cream man? This book! Equal parts mystery story, science fiction adventure and EC horror tale, this is a fun romp with great art by Morazzo. Two scoops please!!!

  

INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK #1 by Gerry Duggan and Mike Allred. Adam Warlock is back from the dead and ready to rock! But he awakens in the clutches of Kang the Conqueror, who reveals that the universe is in great danger. In an effort to save it, Warlock accepts a mission which will result in Kang getting the time gem. He travels back to Ancent Egypt and encounter Rama Tut, who is the original version of Kang. This lead-in to the forthcoming INFINITY COUNTDOWN is a nice introduction to the character. The story is okay, the dialogue is a bit heavy-handed, but Allred’s quirky art is amazing, as always.

INFINITY COUNTDOWN PRIME by Gerry Duggan and Mike Deodato Jr. The search for the Infinity Stones continues, this time mostly focusing on the reborn Wolverine. But the Super Skrull appears, and Magus is killed. Oh yeah: Ultron/Hank Pym is back and an elderly Gamora makes an appearance. This is a great lead-in to the upcoming mini-series that leaves more questions than it gives answers. Deodato’s art is amazing, as always and Duggan hits on all cylinders with this outing.

MARVEL 2 IN ONE #1 by Chip Zdarsky and Jim Cheung. MARVEL 2 IN ONE was always one of my favorite titles because there were some classic storylines, like the Pegasus Project, that got dropped here. No-it wasn’t just a Thing team-up book, although many of the stories were one-offs. This title comes roaring back with Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm teaming up again to search for the rest of the Fantastic Four, missing since the end of SECRET WARS. The story is full of heart and the art is spectacular! Will this lead to the rebirth of the FF? I sure hope so. But, for now, this is a great way to start to bring back the characters I love so much.

THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS #1 by Ian Flynn and Kelsey Shannon. Back in the 1960’s, Archie Comics had this fun attempt at a superhero title. Then they rebooted the characters, some of which got their own series and some of which became second bananas. This book puts the team back together and it’s a mess. There is a bunch of unexplained back story that just leaves you confused and wanting the good old days. Don’t get this, but pick-up the reboot of THE SHIELD, which actually told a great story with a nob to the classic character.

NINJAK VS. THE VALIANT UNIVERSE #1 by Eliot Rahal and Joe Bennett. This book acts as a bridge between the live-action story, featuring Michael Rowe, John Hennigan, Jason David Frank and others with the comic book universe. Ninjak is given an assignment which sets the rest of the heroes after him. The artwork is decent while the story is a little contrived. But I can’t wait for issue #2 to see where it comes. Seek out the variant, which features pictures of the live action stars on the cover

OLD MAN HAWKEYE #1 by Eric Sacks and Marco Checchetto. In the tradition, and timeline, of the original OLD MAN LOGAN, we get this spin-off. Superheroes have been all but wiped out and the few that survive live in the wastelands. One of them is Hawkeye, who is slowly going blind but still has one last mission to fulfill, even if he does it alone. The story feels like it will be fun, although I don’t know if 12 issues isn’t too long, and the art by Checchetto looks great. Definitely worth a taste, but I have doubts on it being able to hold interest for a year.

PHEONIX RESURRECTION #1 by Matthew Rosenberg and Leinil Francis Yu. Spoiler: JEAN GREY IS DEAD. Well…one of them is. Yeah, the past Jean Grey DIED in JEAN GREY #10(sort of) and now the Pheonix has returned in the form of OUR Jean Grey. Yeah… totally confusing. But there’s an anomaly that is causing the dead to come back, even Wolverine, and Jean is one of them. When this series is done, we will have a new team led by the recently deceased Jean Grey called X-Men Red.  The story is a bit filled with holes, but the art is nice. Hopefully, it all makes sense before this mini-series ends.

PUNK’S NOT DEAD #1 by David Barnett and Martin Simmonds. Feargal Ferguson is trying to deal with life and being the kid who gets tormented. Luckily, he has a new, mostly unseen protector is his life. He’s a dead rocker named Sid. And the Department for Extra-Unusual Affairs is also looking into it. This is one wild, crazy book which has some wonderful nods to the British Punk era, while rooting itself firmly in present day. This may be the best book yet from Black Crown/IDW.

QUANTUM AND WOODY  #1 by Daniel Kibblesmith and Kano. Valiant resurrects this oddest duo in superhero comics and it’s a gem! Here’s two “brothers” who don’t get along but they’re gonna try and make it as a team. Filled with great dialogue and killer art, this has always been a favorite of mine. My only question is: when do we get the goat back!?

SECRET WEAPONS #0 by Eric Heisserer and Adam Pollina. Valiant unleashes the first in a series of prequels to their 2017 mini-series.  Story telling on this is awesome, with the art of Pollina and the layout of the book, which tells the tale of one character over the course of a year. Masterful story telling that ties in beautifully to the mythos of the series. I can’t wait to see the next installment!

THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES #1 by Mark Russell and Mike Feehan. So, it’s the 1950’s, McCarthyism is in full swing and you’re a pink lion playwright who is also a closeted homosexual. That’s the basis of this story which takes our beloved Hanna Barbera character and turns his word upside down. Guest appearances by Huckleberry Hound, Dorothy Parker and Lillian Hellman.

STRANGER IN PARADISE XXV by Terry Moore. AT LAST!!! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to see these characters I know and love so well, back! I have always been a huge fan of Moore’s work like ECHO, RACHEL RISING and MOTOR GIRL. But this is the book that first hooked me. The line work is clean, the story is not to overly wordy and Katchoo, Francine and Tambi are back. Rumor has it this will tie his other series together and I can’t wait to see how! Bravo, Terry! Spopiler:" they all come together in this series...just saying!

TALES OF SUSPENSE #100 by Matthew Rosenberg and Travel Foreman. Black Widow is dead. But is she REALLY? Clues seem to point otherwise and it’s the unlikely alliance of Hawleye and Bucky to try and figure it out. Part James Bond action flick and art mystery novel, this was entertaining, even if there seem to be a whole lot of red herrings floating about. Definitely worth getting the next issue to see where it goes.

VENOM INC. ALPHA by Dan Slott, Mike Costa and Ryan Stegman. In an effort to pump some life into the sagging sales of VENOM, we have the first of several months of cross-overs between popular titles. In this one, Eddie Brock is back in his Venom guise, but Flash Thompson is floating around to get the symbiote back for himself, so he can continue his space-based, crime fighting ways. But someone else is in the game too, and they want to create their own army of Venoms. The art is great, but this just gets silly and, if you want the full story, you have to read this, two issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, two issues of VENOM and then the OMEGA book. But wait: next up-a crossover with the X-MEN BLUE.

X-MEN RED #1 by Tom Taylor and Mahmud Asrar. Jran Grey is back from the dead and she has found the world she knew completely changed. So she puts a new team together consisting of herself, Wolverine, Honey Badger, Nightcrawler and Namor. After things go bad, they find themselves at odds with the humans and it looks like Cassandra Nova might be pulling their strings. Taylor writes a good story and Asrar’s art is okay. How many X-books do we need? Apparently Marvel thinks we need one more.